Second match-up of the Round 37 in the English Premier League that will take place on Friday could give us the new champion of England. If Chelsea FC wins at the Hawthorns they will become the Premier League Champions for the sixth time in club history. Here, we have prepared for you an in-depth analysis of the upcoming clash so let’s take a closer look.
WEST BROMWICH ALBION vs. CHELSEA FC
Three-Way: 1: West Bromwich Albion +1000; X: +384 Draw; Chelsea FC -250
Spread +1.5: West Bromwich Albion -118; Chelsea FC +117
Total +2.5: Over -116; Under +120
WEST BROMWICH ALBION
The West Bromwich Albion team is winless since March 18th and they have only one win in last nine games. Currently, they rank eighth in the English Premier league table with 45 points in 35 games and if they weren’t underperforming in the second part of the season they could’ve been in the battle for one of the spots that lead to European competitions next year. This was not the case and now they find themselves in the unattainable 13 points deficit behind Everton FC that ranks seventh.
The team is 1-2-5 in the last eight games and they are 1-0-3 in the last four home matches. Overall record at home is 9-2-7 with 27-21 goal difference (41-45 overall) and they rank 10th in the home league table with 18 of 54 possible points earned. West Bromwich scores 1.50 and concedes 1.17 goals at the Hawthorns this season and they’ve conceded at least one goal in 78% of their home matches including each of their last six home games.
They haven’t score a goal in last three games at home (since 3:1 win over Arsenal FC in Round 29). 50% of their home matches had over 2.5 goals while 39% of their home games had over 3.5 goals in total. 94% of the games in front of their own crowd had under 4.5 goals and only 17% of those games had over 2.5 goals at the halftime. Most common results at home are 3:1 win (occurred four times) and 1:0 loss (occurred three times) while most common score at the halftime was 0:1 trail (occurred five times).
Jose Rondon leads the team in scoring with eight goals while Gareth McAuley has six in his account so far. Matt Phillips tops the team in assists with eight (eighth in the league) while Nacer Chadli has five. Passing segment belongs to Jake Livermore and Darren Fletcher with 1258 and 848 total passes. Goalie Ben Foster played every minute for the Albion this season (35 appearances) and he has collected 98 saves along with six clean sheet games.
Hal Robson-Kanu (Hamstring) and Matt Phillips (Hamstring) are both major doubts and should be available after May 12th.
CHELSEA FC
The Chelsea FC is one step away from becoming new champions of England. Team ranks first in the English Premier league table with 84 points in 35 games, seven points more than Tottenham on the second place with same number of matches played. Both teams have three more matchups before the end of the season meaning that London Blues need only three more points to secure the title. If they emerge victorious on Friday against the city rivals West Bromwich, they will be crowned as the top team in the England. Boss Antonio Conte will be the second manager in Chelsea FC’s history to win the League in his first season at the helm (Jose Mourinho in 2004/05).
There have been some bad results lately (losses against Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge and Manchester United at Old Trafford) but other than that team kept their consistency and they are without of doubt the team that deserves the title the most this season. The Blues are 6-0-2 in the last eight games and 3-0-1 in the last four road matches.
They are the best visiting team of the league this season with 12-3-3 overall record. Team ranks first in the road league table with 39 of 54 possible points earned and 29-16 goal difference (75-29 overall). Chelsea have won 67% of their away matches and they’ve managed to score at least one goal in 83% of their road games. They’ve also scored an opening goal in 80% of their matches and they were leading at the halftime in 57% of their total matches. They score 1.61 and concede 0.89 goals per match away (2.14-0.83 overall) and 69% of their overall matches had over 2.5 goals in total. Only 17% of their road matches had over 3.5 goals and only 11% of their away games had over 2.5 goals at the halftime.
In 33% of their visiting games they scored in both halves and in 49% of their total matches both teams scored. Most common results on the road are 2:1 and 1:0 wins (both occurred three times) and most common score at the halftime is a 1:0 lead (occurred eight times).
Diego Costa leads the team in scoring with 20 goals (third in the league) while Eden Hazard has 15 in his account. Top assister is Cesc Fabregas with 10 assists (fourth in the league) while Pedro has eight. Passing segment belongs to Cesar Azpilicueta and N’Golo Kante with 2010 and 1796 total passes. Goalkeepers Thibaut Curtois (34 appearances) and Asmir Begovic (one appearance) have 66 saves and 15 games with clean sheets combined.
N’Golo Kante (Thigh) is expected to be out until Friday, March 12th and he is a slight doubt for the next matchup.
West Bromwich Albion vs. Chelsea FC – Match Prediction
Sixth English Premier League Champions title and second one in three years sounds pretty good and I’m sure that Chelsea can emerge victorious from this one. The pressure is certainly high for the London Blues, knowing whats at stake, but if there is a team that knows how to deal with pressure, then it is certainly the Chelsea FC.
Nevertheless, these kinds of games have proven to be very tough and I wouldn’t be surprised if the winner is decided by one goal difference. I think West Bromwich has the ability to score at least one goal but I’m not sure that it will be enough to avoid the defeat. Therefore, I do expect the hosts to find a way to score at least one goal, but the Blues should be able to wrap this game up and pop the Champagne bottles celebrating the English Premier League Champions title.
My pick: Both teams score YES (+129)
